Stories get written and actors get a part to play. Everyone had a distinct name, from their birth till cremation. (all men are cremated equal). All went off pretty well till circa 2010, till the numerologists started calling the shots. Whoever in authority, wanted to story rewritten in contemporary sense. Outsourcing being common, it was decided to send a team of experts, who hired another team of advisors to define how to go about the creative writing. Teams in place, finances tucked in, copywriters on board, everything was on schedule till the moment of dread – “luck, vaastu & numerology”. On board came Jaanleva Batliwala and Jumeirah Jumaani. They explained how Jeetoo’s daughter’s kismet changed with a letter, and AB and Baby both encountered success with an apostophy inserted. Who wants to take a panga anyways with numbers (esp. when mathematics was never a forte with the creative writers) They had no problems with the script. Keeping in mind the raahoo-ketou-shaney, they analyzed the names of all the players in the book, and refixed their combinations.

Most characters had inherent probs with their names, and the magic dots n letters rewrote their kismet before the book could roll out into the stores. Hey..problem fixed, exultations and celebrations followed. So, here goes the story…

Many years back, there was a saint (pssst. He was under the reserved quota, SC/ST) who sat under a tree and wrote an epic. (unlike Chetan, he was the one man organization). His name was Baalmickey (see, Valmiki was totalling up to 27 whereas the book demanded a total of 39). One day, the evil kings who invited their cousins to the roulette table literally stripped their brothers family into tatters, before robbing them of their elephants, horses and harems. Four brothers helplessly watched their kin (You-de-stir) gamble away the empire and their shared wife (ugh..true story??). Anyways, Dooh-sha-sawn dragged Draeupaddi into the court and tugged at her sari. Kreeshnah didn’t like it. He raised his left hand (coz the right held the chakra) and allowed Garden sari to flow outta them. The entire family, discarding the urbanization trend migrated from the city to jungles and villages. There Bheaem met heedimbaa and cut her nose(literally) and that let to Ra1 to wreak vengeance. He sat on a birdmobile and came to kidnap Seata. Voila. The same Kreeshnah was there too, albeit in a different Avatar (shaddup, not Cameroune).

Hey, same times man, nothing archaic.  There were ‘different rules for different men’ and the rulers were allowed to practice polygamy, gamble their country, adjudicate gay & pay rights and spend public money while peasants & washerwomen gossiped & drove men to suicide.

Many a wars were looming in Panipat. Not the powerlooms of heirlooms of Panipat. Asli wala fight, and the Panddavass were sent to the Drone-ach-air-ye institute in sector 32, Gurugaone to learn martial arts. Drones incidentally has had tremendous success in AfPak in similar sitiations. The numerologist said no to changing the names of all 16,342 who died in the battle but agreed, for a fee to change the luck of those who were leading the story.

Hence the blind womans bro was Shak-ooni, the kid who learnt cracking fighter formation became AB-man-you, the sword guy was Arr-june, Ckuntee, not so lucky she-khand-he, wise man Bhees-mah etc. etc.etc. I got access to the list, but man, How the F%$# do U spell those changes these numerologists suggest.

Nothing totals up in my case. Seems like I botched up the script too. Them’ Behosh daruwalla and Jumani walked away with the cheque, while I was benched for botching history.

Justice, Justice, please, someone !! I figured out now. No one dare touch me ..a-haaa…

MY NAME IS RAMEAESHH MAYNONE.

Hey!! That wasn’t the topic of my post… I wanted to share how designations have metamorphosised… hic!!! I misspelt again. Anyhow, let me get to the point.

Mr. Subroto Bagchi calls himself the Gardner, though he is an equity holder in Mindtree.

Mr. Narayanmurthy—poor man is relegated to be just a chief mentor.

Mr. Sahara shri is nothing but a managing worker.( not MD)

Cisco India has Wim Elfrink as the chief globalization manager, while Tracy Ann Curtis is the senior manager for diversity & Inclusion. 

Kalpana Veeraraghavan is now the Work life integration leader at IBM.

I am told that perfectly sane technology companies have key positions as Director of People success, Chief privacy officer, Chief competitive officer, vision-holder cum vice chairman, chief beverage server (the one who serves tea on the desk), four wheel manager (car driver), chief impression manager (receptionist), loss prevention manager (security), inlet-outlet minder (doorman) – I think I exaggerated the last one….. the others are all true.

While I have been trying to eavesdrop into the boardroom of many of these corporate, and fantasize on how each of the above senior people would have convinced their peers on the role change, there seems to be a problem of plenty at the bottom.

Earlier, there used to be one CEO and a few gardeners, on the lawns. Now, there would be a few gardeners on the top floor, and a few ‘vegetation managers’ at the gate. As the vegetation managers tend to the flora, the chief privacy officer ensures that the chief typo-speller(the stenographer) does not accept any illegal gratification (read emotional expressions) from the chief of the chief of wheel managers (the transport incharge). All this while, the chief of vision (bespectacled, of course) peers through the reams of excel sheets that the chief of mathematical delusions(CFO) and chief alliance interpretations(HR) together have offloaded onto this chiefs laptop. He calls in his chief of understatement of the cyber space(CTO) and commands him to explain him how the damn PC works… this chief calls in his chief of understanding the understatement (the CIO) and seeks assistance. Finally, the chief of the fuccha brigade (trainee) is summoned who checks through the various analysis & reports and comes up with the inference – THE BATTERY NEEDS TO BE RECHARGED!!

Hey Gardner? Not you sir… I am talking to the one who tends the vegetation… no not you sir trying to pluck a strand of hair from the forehead of the chief typist… not you sir.. then one with the pink pants trying to mentor the muscular trainee… yeah.. right… the one with the hose and spade in the hand… can you please look at the creeper on my window which has completely blocked the daylight off my window??? Whew… I never knew that the gardener attracts so much attention… hey!!! Is that a surname??? Is it like Kim in Korea now, in corporate India.

I have 10 in my company.

Whew !!! too many chiefs now…. sometimes, I feel like lost in the USA of the 19^th century when there were more chief with fancy names than Horses….

I sometimes wonder what would have prompted these changes??? Why do I still have an outdated designation on my visiting card??Why am I still known as the founding Partner?

 Can I not try and convince my management to make me the chief of cerebral masturbation and verbal diarrhoea? Can I address my good friend & colleague Ajay Dabas as the chief of Blabbering untruths and effecting growth (he incidentally is responsible for business development).

It is 01.30 am and I need to get to my bed as my tormentor in chief (wife) and chief of pissing in the sleep(2 year old son) both await me. Will complete this piece shortly.

Ever since I have been a teenager, growing up in Saddi Dilli, I have been wondering on our limitless access to the roads for all activities, as we deem fit, to be conducted on the roads.

My friends were organizing a Jagrata (Jaagran)… an all night pyjama party invoking the gods to shower choicest blessings onto the geographically limited territory of “K” block. Precisely, limited to 44 houses.  Wow!!! Even the Bhakti geet was suitably altered with “Maa” being provided with the exact coordinates. Even the donations were mentioned specifically for ‘Ma’s’ attention – “Sharmaji, K-112 wale,  ne 500 rupaye di ardaas kitti hai maaaaaaaaa”

The point is not the Bhakti, but the venue of expression. My organizer friends when queried, replied to me that all that we need to arrange is the tent, snacks, some bottles for us organizers and tools to woo Mrs. Primlani’s daughter. Venue for pitching the tent and throwing garbage was pre-decided -”the main road leading from the roundabout to K block”.  How convenient, I thought. How considerate of the administration to have sent a Police PCR van to oversee ‘road grabbing”.
I graduated out of college with all the Bhakti on the roads. Having being oriented to the ‘English whisky’ at organizing Jagratas, I became an avid participant at all such organizing committees, since it was also remunerative. Psssstttt.. Let me share a secret. “I used to make more money in college than my first & second jobs”.

Then I graduated from the University and got a job with a publishing house. That was my exposure to the “Shakti”. The then prime minister, Mr. V P Singh managed the unthinkable. He created a storm in the ‘mandal-cup’. Half of Dilli was on the roads uprooting trees, tree guards, foot paths etc. without really imbibing the import of “what-the-hell-am-I-protesting”? Yet again, the Delhi roads were the venue for all expressions.

We dilli-wallahs gain the most pleasure on dancing on the highways. Our Baraats assemble on the roadsides, where free booze, steaming hot kaafi and pakoras are served. Once the alcohol fulfils its intended purpose, out come the dancing jootis. Make up dripping ladies and pot-bellied ill fitting suits convert the road into a mobile  dance floor, and the happening event is captured for posterity. May out children also see “mamu’s wedding” and keep alive this tradition. Amen !!!!!

Jhaankis !!!!! Another activity custom intended for the road. We dilliwallahs believe in collective expression of our beliefs on the road, procession et all. Sometimes pre-dawn and sometimes post dinner. However, the biggest draw is during the peak traffic hours’ where the general public too is included in invoking gods, Dilli Ishtyle. Everyone curses the organizers, and invokes gods to take them homely, safe n timely. Thank Shakti & Bhakti together.

A few years back, the Kerala high court tried to rule against declaring the ‘bandhs” as illegal. The entire political class ganged up together and ensured that such ‘constitutional rights’ are not snatched away of the aam-aadmi. tch.tch.
Quite unfortunately, the aam-aadmi has no interest to ‘abhivyakti (express) his Bhakti n shakti on the roads, while putting to inconvenience his fellow aam-aadmis. It is the so called elite of organizers and fund raisers, who can put a million to trouble for their moolah, which can be collected legitimately, in the name of God. As for dancing on the road, the most danced roads lead to a marriage hall belonging to someone influential.

Voila. Now we know how and why Dilli keeps expressing themselves on the main roads.. the more motorists, the better it gets… Tu jaanta nahin hai main kaun hoon… It is my birthright to use the road for every purpose other than what it is intended for !!!!!

What a wedding was it? Was it a wedding or a carnival? I wonder many a times on the hollowness of human intent around us, most times.

You must be wondering who I am? I am just like you, a slightly over-weight, mid height, average looking “Dude” tag aspirant, who gets invited to mingle with the ‘haves’ and pretenders both.

Was I happy attending the marriage drama of Rocky and Samantha on that desolate Tuesday, the 19^th February? – I decided to rewind my memory to reflect on what I read in the eyes at the wedding.

“It was rockin, a la Rocky”, was all that I heard about the party. Amidst the cacophony of the music, shielded bear-hugs and firm gritty handshakes, I meandered towards the platform where there was a band playing love songs. Dolly, or was it Polly… don’t exactly remember the name of the lead singer…… but here, let me call her Dolly. I planned to nurse just a glass of French wine for the entire evening, and stood leaning onto the giant speakers, and tried snooping into her soul, her heart, her mind and her being through the vacant excitement in her eyes.

She was good! Not mellifluous, but pleasant on the eyes and ears. Elegant, smartly attired, nourished, tall, not heavily bejewelled, but smacked of a rich educated lineage.

There was one big giveaway, though. THOSE BLANK EYES, which wasn’t anywhere participative in the wedding happiness of Rocky & Samantha.

Contrasts emerged when I felt (not heard, but felt it through all my 5 senses together) her first song – “I am happy for you, with everyone around us”.

She was lying like the rest of us in the party. That is when I saw every thought darting away from what was being seen. Rocky, unless drunk, couldn’t have ever felt Samantha to be his soul mate, the ‘happy guests’ were congratulating Samantha more to get away from the chore, the kids running around couldn’t give a damn on who was footing the bill for the feast, the chef took off his hat oblivious of the tiny sweat bead slipping onto the dough… Me, cold as a chiller, refrigerating my feelings, and Dolly was “Happy for you, with everyone around us”.

An Indian Shayar (Poet) once famously remarked – Songs are not to be heard, then need to be felt, by the one who sings, and who hears, for both to really enjoy”.

Was it why everyone was into the silly chitter-chatter? Was it why I asked for a refill, albeit for a more acrid alcohol? Was it why Dolly was uttering the words, but not really “Happy for you, with everyone around us?”

I tried to sneak further into Dolly… this was just a job for her. Not really something that made her happy. My mind wandered to my initial years in odd jobs.. was she paying her rent, fee, education, drunk husband’s bail, kids growing up expense etc. through this? Wasnt this what she always wanted to do? Is she also going through the motion like I was driving the delivery truck? Was she “Happy for you, with everyone around us?

I must commend the strength of her appearance…. not one hair out of place with a plastic grin… Those high cheek bones forcing her eyes to squint through the classy glasses, the microphone snuggling comfortably into the gently grip at the base, and the effervescence she spread through the band made music, and everyone was “Happy for you, with everyone around us”

Though she was grossly out of place as far as the revelry was concerned, it wasn’t discernible. Her strength of character emerged strongly visible. Her easy gait reminded me of Gabriela Sabatini walking like John Wayne, fully aware of the contrasts. She smiled as coyotely confident like the pick-up girl in Pretty woman. Words flowed in tandem with the music, and did make sense to everyone; however engrossed were they in their own fluids. She genuinely pretended “Happy for you, with everyone around us.”

As I walked through the party, exchanging pleasantries with all and sundry, I realized that Dolly was probably who would draw ‘gratifications from a job well done’ by “Happy for you, with everyone around us”; the rest of us were there for pretensions sake.

How I wish none of us were dollies in our existence. How I wish I were myself. How I wish Rocky n Samantha were not what they were pretending at this instance to be. How I wish, it were the dollies of the world who got paid better from the cost of the carnival.

I remembered then – Deserve before you desire. I tend to remain a Dolly as I flow with the tide !

I am producing these select poems written by a friend, Seema Sahaa, as an ode to the affected ones during the incidents of violence and infringements, which transgressed our peaceful existence during the last few days.

An acutely efficient management professional by attitude, profession and knowledge, Seema’s poems epitomizes what every Indian is going through, irrespective of orientations. Everyone wants to express their inner feelings, today, some more violently than the others. But, these are expressions which are a manifestation of the protest!!! Protest against “taking shit, lying down”. These expressions are not of self pity, but recognition of our strengths, they don’t lament, but make bold statements, they don’t regret, but convey intent.

With Seema’s approval, I am producing these here to ensure that the message spreads to as many more like us, who empathize. Please DO NOT hesitate to circulate these poignant thoughts. These poems were so well appreciated that NDTV is carrying them on its website.

Seema Sahaa can be connected with on seema.sahaa@yahoo.co.in

Message to the nation from an NSG commando

I fought and fought till the end…

I fought for the country and you my friend…

The pain n heat I bore it all

Till the time I felt myself just fall

I really did not want to go

I bore it till I could bear no more

I called out to you, you could not hear

I wanted to ask you not to fear…

For long after I am gone.

The fight against terror must go on

Don’t let my death in vain ever go

Stand up and fight till u can take no more

Our country is bleeding innocent people are dying

Fathers are grieving mothers are crying

Don’t let my death in vain, ever go

Stand up and fight till u can take no more

The faceless friend

The sound of laughter the clinking of glass

The brightly lit room, the shine of brass

Shattered by a sudden sound

Gunfire going off round after round

People screamed and panicked with fear

“Some anti social elements must have come in here! “

Reassured the man all dressed in white

But his face said more, it didn’t seem all right.

He ushered us towards the backside door

My heart beat faster. I could think no more

We hid in a room awaiting the morn

But the gunfire kept going on and on

There were screams n shouts and painful sounds

We closed our ears as we lay on the ground

We listened to our people scream and fall

As the cowards butchered and killed them all

I heard a scream that spoke of pain

I heard her scream again and again

I shared her pain and sensed her fear

And I couldn’t even help her or go near!!

After a few hours that seemed eternity

We were slowly led out and then set free

But it was freedom of a different kind

For I am still haunted by the screams of her whom I left behind.

So this is a cry, a universal plea

Please fight terrorism and set the world free

Let’s fight those cowards till the end

To avenge the death of my faceless friend

Duty bound

(A tribute to the GM of Taj)

The sound of gunfire and shattering glass

Screams and shouts and death en masse

He sprung to action and helped everyone around

For he was a civilian soldier who was duty bound

His thoughts went up to his family

He wanted to rush and help them flee

But he stood right there rooted to the ground

For he knew he was duty bound

He was told there was a fire raging upstairs

He could feel the heat and see the flares

But he stayed to help everyone around

For he felt he was duty bound

He helped people out and shut the door

He was told the fire was on the upper floor

His family was up, they must be found

He rushed up stairs, he was duty bound

He reached them just a trifle late

They had met an extremely unkind fate

He stood there still, his grief abound

Then went back to work for he was duty bound.

He grieved not for those he loved the most

For there were guests to save and he was the host

He helped each and everyone he found

And saved their lives because he was duty bound.

For the sake of all those men all so brave

For the sake of the great sacrifices they made

Let us resolve to eliminate this evil that’s spread all around

For all of use are duty bound.

Seema Saha

]]> http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/12/an-ode-to-resilience-by-seema-sahaa/feed/ 0 http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/11/who-has-ever-killed-for-religion/ http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/11/who-has-ever-killed-for-religion/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:26:09 +0000 admin http://ramesh-menon.com/?p=27

Who has ever killed for religion? – A meaningless debate

The people who killed, and the people who got killed, WERE NOT IDENTIFIED BY THEIR RELIGIOUS FAITH, BELIEFS OR IDEALS.

“One had decided to kill, and the other just happened to be there”.

That unfortunately is not how a small portion of our billion plus populations would have us believe. Some of our so called “pretending intelligentsia”, some of whom have read books, and some have authored books, would rather have us masses to follow their little myopic opinion that it is religion which is exhorting mankind to ‘lemming’ itself. However marginal, this tribe is on the increase, and the earlier the better, that we stamp their stupid thoughts out of our existence.

From my experience, this is the tribe which is trying “desperately hard to gain acceptability into our sensibilities by those very material tools that we ascribe to” – for e.g: some of these ones are well in the know of gadgets, wining, finery, fine arts etc, thereby, getting acceptability into our senses. Once with their foot in, these try to drone our senses to their ‘whir-whirr’ of what they see through their myopic & invested prism of an opinion.

Here is my opinion—EMPHATIC- since I am writing on my own space – “I DONT AGREE THAT THERE IS ANY RELIGION IS BEHIND THESE KILLINGS”

We have elements on both sides, who are “pretending intelligentisia” – the types who can only believe in what they believe, and who have no qualms in beating their hollow chests. One is who exhorts or convinces others that “God ordains to kill”, AND, the other type is the one who goes to great length to incarcerate “one particular god to be ordaining killings”.

Whew! God keep me away from both.

In my humble opinion, I haven’t come across one text, discourse, religious manual which tells, rather exhorts, mankind to kill his brethren, WITHOUT ANY REASON. And, I am in no way willing to listen to the type who are tom-tomming around that it is any particular religion which is influencing people to kill.

Ask yourself – “were the Mumbai terrorists shooting after a credential check?? Were they selective in firing at the people who were dining at the Tiffin restaurant @ Oberoi. Did they ask the religion of the front office personnel before randomly shooting them?

Whoever is reading this, please beware of the second type – THEY ARE LOOSE AND ON THE PROWL. The first type inevitably gets shot and is killed. Teh second type is the most dangerous who ends up killing many more.

I have nothing “for or against” any religion OR teachings, but I am not in favour at all of those who have us believe in some particular concocted theory, after many lives are lost. The sole purpose of such theoruies is to ensure more are lost, by subscribing.

Signing off now, with a heavy heart for whatever has happened in Mumbai over the past few days, and hope that we all have the ability to segregate “grain from the chaff”, especially, in our endeavour to be led by “THE POLITICAL LEADERS AMONGST PRETENDING INTELLIGENTSIA”.

Tha umr dhoondte rahe ek kaandha, sar rakh kar aansoo bahaane ko.

Aise nikle aansoo, ke chaar rote huey kaandhe mile sawaari ko.

What is essentially meant was that many a people spend their lifetime searching for the elusive “shoulder to cry on”, but fail miserably. Ultimately, the grind of the find takes its toll, and they leave on ‘four crying shoulders’.

I do notice so many people around me not living the moment. Most are dejected about the mundane, rather than rejoice about the largesse of god, nature and their own surroundings. Over a period of time, their ‘will wilts’ and they just drag on.

Like I had said once – “Saans tho le rahe hain, par jeena bhool gaye” ( I am still breathing, but forgot how to live”.

I exhort people to feel happy about themselves, about what this life has bestowed on them, rather than stop living in search of the elusive fantasy.

Will write in detail about this with specific instances once I am in the hills. I am headed for Tehri now…. work of course, but, if I spend the night there, I might complete this one. In the meantime, if any of you happen to read this, please dont forget to leave me with your comments.

WE ACCOMODATE EVERYDAY… SPECIALLY, WHEN WE GET INTO ASSOCIATIONS.. PARTNERSHIPS… JOINT VENTURES… ENTREPRENEUR MODE… However much of English that we speak (enough to land us a BPO job, but not enough to liberate us from the shacked of “adjust karo”)

Why do we remain SMEs for such a long time? Can we discuss modern practices? Are tools even discussed ever? Are we perennially “adjust karo? Are we accommodating each other most time (idiosyncrasies and myopic behaviour most times). Do the wives, husbands and families influencing without an iota of know how? Have we missed the global bus—excepting the BPO business where we offered the value of cost savings first, then quality?

A common observation with a majority of small start ups… the variety of entrepreneurial ventures which do not catch the eye of the organized PE funding world. Necessarily, this is the largest chunk that contributes to our GDP and the growth of business in the country.

There are three things in common which I have observed in these start-ups.

a) Promoters are mostly friends or ex-colleagues

b) They have a common dream – NOT A COMMON VISION

c) Most do not have enough resources to stay afloat beyond the first 6 months.

All my observations here, negative in nature (might be) are a reflection of my observation of this target audience within the first year of being together. Their fast tracked change of behaviour is what I call the “Quintessential SME pigeon mindset”.

Quintessential because it is repetitive…. business after business goes through this cycle, without being influenced by the earlier failures of peers.

Now, what exactly is this cyclical ‘SME pigeon’? Like the old Indian saying, the pigeon shuts its eyes closed the moment it sees the cat around – assuming that since it cannot see the cat, even the cat cannot see it. The other example is from the Punjabi fables… the most riled bird called “Ghuggu”… which keeps staring into the headlamp of an approaching vehicle, and ultimately gets crushed under the wheels.

Both the above examples are typical of the (mis) management approach of many an SME entrepreneurial start-ups, wherein the approaching problems are seen, but ignored.

Is it because of optimism? Is it because of the lack of vision? Is it the lack of experience? Is it a product of wrong timing? I presume it is because of the “Adjust karo” mentality !!!! It is a factor of accommodating the wrong decisions of fellow promoters. It is for the reason that promoters accommodate each other and don’t ask the difficult questions, internally. It is for the reason that promoters don’t acquire knowledge and apply to their own business. It is because the promoter are like the pigeon which thinks that shutting the eye would avert the disaster.

One training programme I attended long back had an interesting statistic revealed. The trainer mentioned that “97% of the partnerships in business break up within the first 3-5 years.”

Isn’t that number amazing & staggering? How come it is still 97%? Isn’t that indication that the new wave of entrepreneurs still haven’t learnt from the mistakes of their immediate past peers?

The common thread in most of the above failure is that the partners / promoters / managers accommodated each other, rather than the business vision. Each one gave in to the temptation of not broaching the topic lest the other feels bad.

One common observation is that partners avoid bringing up uncomfortable topics within the first 6-12 months of operation. All this while, the grey thoughts are harboured in the mind, leading to fair bit of consternation and frustration over the inactivity of the thought. I have seen partners & promoter seeking a vent for these thoughts outside their core group. That to me, is the first sign of the approaching problem, wherein, one tried to adjust karo, or accommodate the assumption, rather than brainstorm, debate & seek solutions.

Here is my checklist of things to be done.

1) Don’t accommodate. Realize that all promoters / partners have to be the “slaves of the cause, rather than masters of the business”. Essentially, create one vision and continually remind each other on what the end goal is. That also allows one to bring up topics which presumptuously are discomfort.

2) Set up a review schedule – Once a month to assess for oneself on the direction.

3) No holds barred – Open the first meeting with the candidness and welcome note on not feeling bad about thoughts.

4) Sticking together – Remind each other than “we are here for the long haul” and would like to be together when success strikes.

5) Share – Share as much knowledge as possible so that no one member starts to develop a complex, which eventually would lead to that member putting a spoke in the wheel.

6) Discuss the financial troubles – Make sure that it is chatted objectively. The lack of funds / resources more often leads to disenchantment and de-motivating. That is the time to talk to each other on the ‘that day’ being the pain to reach the ultimate goal.

Last, but not the least, if you have got together and have one dream, always take your fellow promoter along. Don’t get overwhelmed and judgemental about the professional thoughts. Unless there are integrity & values conflict, take your partner to be your companion for the journey, as you might walk out of one, but there are no guarantees on how the next one would be.

Yours truly says the above out of experience, not from reading some management books….. Please feel free to contradict me.

This post has been contributed by Tarun Lall. If you have any differences of opinions with Tarun, please leave your comments at the bottom of this page. I will make sure that it reaches him.

Hic & burp !!!!

For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies:

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

3. The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

4. The Italians drink large amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

6. Ukrainians drink a lot of vodka, eat a lot of porgies, cabbage rolls and suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British or Canadians.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

]]> http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/08/breaking-news-tarun-lall-expose/feed/ 0 http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/07/is-leadership-bllshit/ http://ramesh-menon.com/2008/07/is-leadership-bllshit/#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:30:33 +0000 admin http://ramesh-menon.com/?p=38 Some one had mentioned something on the lines of the following message many years back. It has stuck on to me – and has helped me model, or rather, aspire to model the assignments that I have either lead, or taken on myself.

“An organization is the extension of the leaders’ personality”.

We could look around our eco system – not only business, but cultural, political and social. Leadership plays an immesely important role. Of the many people I have met, and continue to do so, I have observed that only about 5-7% actually have the innate desire to take the leadership role.

I define that leadership as the “ability to assume responsibility, without the crutches of hierarchy, escape doors on (lack of) committment, and the fear of failure”. Am I off the mark?

In such a scenario, what is the best course for any organization? Do we seek leaders from outside our sphere to carry forward the vision? Can we invest into creating leaders within? Are there thumb number time-lines and investments that can be defined. I foresee this as a huge challenge in the times to come, as many things are coming so very easily to our youngsters today, EXCEPT LEADERSHIP.

Let us try and debate how is the “Organization an extension of the individuals personality”… Look around us… we always see families practising ‘true values’ passed on to generations by the head of the family. We see degenerated mindsets being passed on from debillitated political minds into the younger ones they mentor. We see ethical systems & processes being created by business houses following ethical governance. I love to say this as a fact that “rotten eggs have to smell, irrespective of their state of rot”. Havent we seen success of leadership within government sectors? Isnt the Delhi Metro rail corporation an example in itself of infrastructure creation? Have we observed the dignified positive action of Dr. Abdul Kalam? Baba Amte, S L Bahuguna, Gandhiji, Ratan Tata, Jack Welch and Narayan Murthy… (many names dont appear here, but they are greats in their own right.)

Let me clarify my thought here on leadership… many a people confuse leadership to the top position. I am CERTAIN that the top bracket is not to be referred as LEADERSHIP… Leadership is the ability of a person to take absolute responsibility of the responsibililty vested, with no fear of failure and display of committment to take forward to a successful completion. On these parameters, dont you think some people at the bottom of the hierarchial pyramid display more leadership skills that the ones in the middle. Take for example Bal Kumar in my company. He reaches the office at 8.30, cleans up the place, switches on the Air-conditioner about 15 minutes before everyone else turns in, serves the right beverage to each employee as per their preference, and ensures that lunch is served at the right time. Going forward, he once mentioned to me that he would like to learn how to operate a computer !!! He punched in some numbers I had asked him to be tabulated on a excel sheet.

Cut to another employee, at the middle level, exuding a lot of promise, but, who had nothing but her travails of her relationship with her ma-in-law to be discussed during work hours.

WHICH ONE OF THE ABOVE TWO DO YOU THING DISPLAYED LEADERSHIP?

That is what I meant ! I am a firm believer that those organizations would succeed where more & more people take ownership, create propreitary interest in their direct assignment, and align it with their peers. All good leaders communicate…. everyday… and appraise their peers (more than seniors) on what they have set out to do, and have achieved. It creates a healthy environment and builds teams.

Someone wisely says – “A leader is not known by the number of followers he has, but, by the number of leaders he creates.” This adage is applicable in our daily lives if we can positively influence (read motivate through our committment & action) our immediate sphere, and EVOLVE OURSELVES AS LEADERS.